1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting head, a liquid ejecting apparatus, and a piezoelectric element.
2. Related Art
For example, liquid ejecting heads such as ink jet recording heads used in liquid ejecting apparatuses such as ink jet printers are known (see JP-A-2008-211140). As piezoelectric materials of piezoelectric elements provided to such liquid ejecting heads, PZT piezoelectric materials such as lead zirconate titanate (piezoelectric ceramics represented by a compositional formula, Pb(Zr,Ti)O3, and abbreviated as “PZT”) are known (see JP-A-2008-211140).
The strain amount of a piezoelectric ceramic having a less content of lead is generally smaller than those of PZT piezoelectric ceramics. However, recently, there is a demand for a piezoelectric material of a perovskite-type oxide having a less content of lead as an alternative material of the PZT piezoelectric materials, from the viewpoint of an environmental issue. For example, JP-A-2007-221066 discloses a lead-free piezoelectric material represented by a compositional formula, Bi(Fe,Mn)O3, and abbreviated as BFO ceramics, containing bismuth as the A-site element and iron as the B-site element.
Accordingly, there is a demand for a liquid ejecting head including a piezoelectric element produced using a piezoelectric ceramic, wherein the liquid ejecting head has a low environmental load and an improved reliability.